Wood hasn’t played since mid-October last year, when he had 16 minutes off the bench for Nottingham Forest against Chelsea.
His knee issues led him to have surgery in December, and that led to speculation he could miss the rest of the season.
But his return will be a huge boost for the All Whites, three months out from the start of the Fifa World Cup and for Forest as they fight to avoid relegation in the Premier League.
Earlier this week, Forest manager Vitor Pereira said he was encouraged by Wood’s recent progress.
“I don’t want to push him up, but I think he will be able to help us in the last few games of the season,” Pereira said. “He is important for the group because he has quality.
“He scores goals, and he has the personality to help us. I usually don’t push the players to come earlier, but today he started the warm-up with the team.
“I really hope we can have him for the last games because he’s an important player.”
Wood has also been sorely missed at Forest, who are now just two points outside the relegation zone, following last weekend’s home defeat to Liverpool. Forest have scored just 28 goals in 30 League games, the second-lowest in the competition only behind Wolves.
The New Zealander was a huge part of their eye-catching campaign last season, hitting the magical 20-goal mark, as Forest spent much of the season in the top four and eventually finished seventh, to qualify for the Europa League.
Forest are just above the relegation zone with eight games remaining this season, and they face fellow strugglers Tottenham on Monday.
Their first game back is on April 13 against Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Wood has been left out of the New Zealand squad to play Finland (March 27) and Chile (March 31) in the upcoming Fifa series, which stars in Auckland next week.
